One of the things that has rankled both Democrats and Republicans is the wasteful spending, earmarks, and pork projects that been a high priority for Washington politicians. In his race against entrenched Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Rep. Dick Zimmer is presenting a contrast between the two candidates on this important issue:

Zimmer today highlighted incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s support of the Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 – informally known as the Farm Bill – saying that it is full of pork-barrel spending, provides unneeded subsidies to agribusiness and raises prices for consumers.

“New Jerseyans pay twice for the Farm Bill: once in higher federal taxes to fund big handouts to wealthy farmers in other states and again in the higher prices they pay at their supermarket checkout line,” said Zimmer in a statement.“Politicians like Senator Lautenberg have been in office so long and are so disconnected with average taxpayers that they fail to see the wastefulness of this bloated depression-era legislation. To them, it is business as usual—catering to special interests, throwing good money after bad, all at taxpayer expense.”

Zimmer, who stood against federal earmarks, or “pork,” during his three terms in the House of Representatives between 1991 and 1997, has made that opposition the hallmark of his current campaign.

New Jerseyans already know how much wasteful spending has hit their pocketbooks on a state level, so I think this message speaks to them. Dick Zimmer’s fiscal discipline is needed in the U.S. Senate for the United States and the people of New Jersey.